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Editor’s note: This story has been updated to include new comments from NDP leader Thomas Mulcair

TORONTO –The recent death of a retired Canadian Forces member once again has veterans advocates pointing to a mental health crisis in Canada’s military.

Retired Cpl. Leona MacEachern, a 20-year veteran with the Canadian Armed Forces, died on Christmas Day in a head-on collision west of Calgary.

Initially, reports indicated MacEachern’s death was an accident, however the veteran’s husband said that MacEachern died by suicide, calling her death an “intentional final desperate act” of his 51-year-old wife.

In a written statement, Leona’s husband Tom MacEachern said his wife intentionally drove her car over the centre line, hitting a transport truck that was travelling southbound. She was pronounced dead on the scene.

MacEachern said Leona was being treated for post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and was released from a treatment facility for Christmas.